One of the earliest German Democratic Republic passports

East German passport is part of my archive and collection. The first passport act was released by Wilhelm Pieck, President of the German Democratic Republic in September 1954. However, this is the earliest GDR passport I ever have seen. Issued in June 1955 with passport number 1043. I do have another document from July 1955 (No.4214). Does a GDR passport before 1955 even exist? Probably not. However, I do also have a GDR Seaman’s book issued in 1953.

I am happy to get this early one, issued to VERA THIES on 3 June 1955 in Berlin. Vera had a bachelor’s degree as Philologist and was sent for a three-month cultural exchange program to Hungary. Her passport included an unusual official document of the Government of the German Democratic Republic, Office for Literature and Publishing. Also included is a separate document “Attachment to the GDR ID card” from 1960, where she again traveled for 3 months to Hungary. This is fantastic GDR passport history and I hope one day I will find an even older one.

Letter from the office of Literature and Publishing — Letter from the Office for Literature and Publishing and the attachment to the ID card.

The GDR existed for just over 40 years, from 1949 to 1990 when the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was reunited into the Federal Republic of Germany. There was no freedom to travel in the GDR, and the possibility of private vacation was very limited. Since the Wall was built in 1961, holidays in Western countries have remained wishful thinking.

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